Sudden Opera

On his 2019 debut album Sudden Opera, 38-year-old Pony offers a convincing argument in favor of art made by adults who have had time to live, screw up, try again, and find their voice. The records title is an apt description: its sound hits abruptly then steadily, like a floodswells of moody strings, thundering low ends, and dramatic keys, led by Ponys swinging soul vocals yearning, consoling, and questioning. Pony wrote every song that appears on Sudden Opera. He pieces together vivid imagery and enigmatic wordplay to create a mood of ambiguous longing mixed with brazen self-awareness.